February 3, 2014
Hey Mama,
This week was a little bit tough. We are working really hard; harder than I have probably ever worked on my mission. We are working to find new investigators to teach. And...We haven’t found a single one since I arrived here, which is a bummer. We are talking to as many people as possible. We are doing contacts. We ask for references. But people here just don’t want anything to do with us at all. But hey, I am not letting that really get me down. I am working hard and I feel good about that. I know that if we keep working and looking for the revelation from God, things will turn around here. I know that we just need to be patient and faithful always.
Hey, there were 17 at church here yesterday. We still haven’t broken twenty in church yet. It is a super weird thing. The members just... stopped coming to church like two months ago. And we don’t really know why. They are all super disseminated. We are working really hard to try and strengthen the members. We have started a Book of Mormon reading program where everyone in the branch is going to read the Book of Mormon in 4 months. They all had to sign contracts and everything. We will see how that goes. I have faith that if all the members start reading the Book of Mormon here.... this place will change. There will be excitement once again. We will start seeing real growth in the church. And actually, President Rappleye told me that if they start reading the Book of Mormon as a branch, the number of baptisms will go up. There is truth to that. There is a power that begins to flow into the life of an individual once they start a serious study of the Book of Mormon. I testify of that. It has happened in my own personal life here on the mission.
Hey, I heard about the Super bowl Sunday today! I had completely forgotten that it was going to happen yesterday. I actually didn’t even know which teams were in there. But Cool! It just made me think of your homemade wings for some reason. You are going to have to make those for me again sometime when I get home... in less than 10 months now! Crazy (with the cambios the way they are I will probably be home the 27th of November). I have been in Chile for like a whole year now! Time is passing too quickly.
I love you and hope everything is well. You are in my prayers and your letter is in the mail.
Elder Warren
Elder McKay Marble Warren~~ Chile Osorno Mission
Monday, March 31, 2014
Se Bautizo!!!
January 27, 2014
Mom!!!
Hey! I have good news! And you already know because I sent you the pictures first! But Cristian got baptized!!!! And Confirmed!! It was legit. Elder Keetch baptized him on Saturday and I confirmed him on Sunday in sacrament meeting. It was a really cool experience. I was really happy to see all of it. Haha. The only thing that is a little sad for me is that none of the members really came to support Cristian in his baptism. Elder Keetch and I worked super hard to plan everything. We even had programs made and printed. And guess what...? Nobody showed up; just the Branch President and a few other people. Oh boy... the Branch President was TICKED!!! He stood up on Sunday in sacrament meeting and threw some serious palos at the members. Holy cow! I have never seen anything like that in my life. The dude stands up after the sacrament and just starts ripping all of the members a new one for their lack of enthusiasm and commitment. It was awesome!!!! I don’t know if Branch Presidents are really allowed to stand up for 45 minutes in sacrament meeting and do that, but it was sweet.
In other news this week...I got a haircut. I buzzed my head again. The wind here is out of control. (Usually like 80 mph) super fuerte. So I got sick of my hair always getting messed up due to the wind. So it is nice and short. Haha. Nice and short. But I like it; although, I have the fear that I might go bald in a few years. Haha.
Mom, I want you to know that I am doing well. I don’t need anything. I am doing fine. We are getting up to play basketball every single morning. We eat a lot of cookies. We sometimes beat box and write funny rap songs at night, just to keep ourselves entertained. We make funny videos on my camera. I will show them to you someday.
I am glad that you had fun with the Borup’s. Cool son must equal cool parents. That is a fact. Hey, I got Adrienne’s Christmas card. Tell her thank you. Her kids are cute. We make pasta a lot with hot dogs in it. Also, we eat beans almost every single day here. I don’t like them at all because they make me sick to my stomach. But, it does serve me to lower my weight a little bit.
Sorry it is a little short this week. I had a lot to read and a couple emails to write. I had to write a long one to the Mission President this week. But hey, be good. Read your scriptures. Pray. Don’t miss me too much. I love you.
Much Love,
Elder Warren
 |
| Elder Keetch, Cristian, Elder Warren |
Hey! I have good news! And you already know because I sent you the pictures first! But Cristian got baptized!!!! And Confirmed!! It was legit. Elder Keetch baptized him on Saturday and I confirmed him on Sunday in sacrament meeting. It was a really cool experience. I was really happy to see all of it. Haha. The only thing that is a little sad for me is that none of the members really came to support Cristian in his baptism. Elder Keetch and I worked super hard to plan everything. We even had programs made and printed. And guess what...? Nobody showed up; just the Branch President and a few other people. Oh boy... the Branch President was TICKED!!! He stood up on Sunday in sacrament meeting and threw some serious palos at the members. Holy cow! I have never seen anything like that in my life. The dude stands up after the sacrament and just starts ripping all of the members a new one for their lack of enthusiasm and commitment. It was awesome!!!! I don’t know if Branch Presidents are really allowed to stand up for 45 minutes in sacrament meeting and do that, but it was sweet.
In other news this week...I got a haircut. I buzzed my head again. The wind here is out of control. (Usually like 80 mph) super fuerte. So I got sick of my hair always getting messed up due to the wind. So it is nice and short. Haha. Nice and short. But I like it; although, I have the fear that I might go bald in a few years. Haha.
Mom, I want you to know that I am doing well. I don’t need anything. I am doing fine. We are getting up to play basketball every single morning. We eat a lot of cookies. We sometimes beat box and write funny rap songs at night, just to keep ourselves entertained. We make funny videos on my camera. I will show them to you someday.
I am glad that you had fun with the Borup’s. Cool son must equal cool parents. That is a fact. Hey, I got Adrienne’s Christmas card. Tell her thank you. Her kids are cute. We make pasta a lot with hot dogs in it. Also, we eat beans almost every single day here. I don’t like them at all because they make me sick to my stomach. But, it does serve me to lower my weight a little bit.
Sorry it is a little short this week. I had a lot to read and a couple emails to write. I had to write a long one to the Mission President this week. But hey, be good. Read your scriptures. Pray. Don’t miss me too much. I love you.
Much Love,
Elder Warren
 |
| Elder Keetch, Cristian, Isabel, Antonela, Elder Warren |
Wedding!!
January 20, 2014
Mamita,
Hey, this week was a pretty good week. We spent like half of the week in Punta Arenas. We stayed in the Zone Leader’s house along with the Elders from Puerto Natales. Six Elders in a house that is built for 2!!! Haha. We were there for three nights. The interviews were fine. President just gave me advice about how to work with the branch here to be able to strengthen it. There is definitely some strengthening to be done here. There were like 15 Members at church, us, and one investigator. The asistencia is super low here. But, it is alright. We are working on that. But anyway, I didn't actually get to leave to work with Elder Borup. I left with his companion one day, and with Elder Monson another day. He is from Pleasant Grove. Oh, and to answer your question...President travels the whole mission once every six weeks. So he comes to Punta Arenas once every six weeks, but he never comes to Porvenir. I think he came here only once when he first got to the mission, so almost three years ago. He goes home in June, I think. They already called the new Mission President. UN Mexicano. I can’t remember his name.
We made it back in time for the wedding!!! That was sweet. I sent you a picture so that you could see. They are cool people and I was super happy to see them make the decision to get married. She is a member, and he is going to get baptized on Saturday. They already have the date to go to the temple in like a year! Super exciting! But during the wedding I couldn't really help but think to myself that I want to go about getting married in a different way. In the temple the first time before I have kids. Haha. But it was sweet. After the wedding we had an activity in the capilla to help them celebrate! It was sweet. We made brownies from scratch, and they actually turned out really well. They were really good.
Porvenireños.... are interesting people. Most people here are extremely unfriendly. In other sectores it is easy to talk to 30 or more new people in a day. Here.... we are lucky if we talk to 5 new people. If we knock 20 doors, 19 of them won’t even be opened. So... it is difficult. Almost every single person here has already heard all about the missionaries and wants nothing to do with us. Haha. But we still try and talk to them anyway. There ARE people here that need the gospel. There ARE people here that are ready to hear it, but we just have to be patient and keep looking for them. So that is what we will do.
Hey, that is fantastic news that you are reading the Book of Mormon again. Read it. Every single day. I do it. That is what keeps me going. I love the Book of Mormon. I read it... a lot. Haha. Whenever I have time I try to read it. So keep on that, and I guarantee that you will see the blessings.
Hey, have a good week! Hope you are doing well. Enjoy dinner with the Borup’s. Tell them I say hi. And... I haven’t really received my package yet. We don’t see mail too often down here. It is probably in the office in Osorno, though. No worries.
Elder Warren
Mamita,
Hey, this week was a pretty good week. We spent like half of the week in Punta Arenas. We stayed in the Zone Leader’s house along with the Elders from Puerto Natales. Six Elders in a house that is built for 2!!! Haha. We were there for three nights. The interviews were fine. President just gave me advice about how to work with the branch here to be able to strengthen it. There is definitely some strengthening to be done here. There were like 15 Members at church, us, and one investigator. The asistencia is super low here. But, it is alright. We are working on that. But anyway, I didn't actually get to leave to work with Elder Borup. I left with his companion one day, and with Elder Monson another day. He is from Pleasant Grove. Oh, and to answer your question...President travels the whole mission once every six weeks. So he comes to Punta Arenas once every six weeks, but he never comes to Porvenir. I think he came here only once when he first got to the mission, so almost three years ago. He goes home in June, I think. They already called the new Mission President. UN Mexicano. I can’t remember his name.
We made it back in time for the wedding!!! That was sweet. I sent you a picture so that you could see. They are cool people and I was super happy to see them make the decision to get married. She is a member, and he is going to get baptized on Saturday. They already have the date to go to the temple in like a year! Super exciting! But during the wedding I couldn't really help but think to myself that I want to go about getting married in a different way. In the temple the first time before I have kids. Haha. But it was sweet. After the wedding we had an activity in the capilla to help them celebrate! It was sweet. We made brownies from scratch, and they actually turned out really well. They were really good.
Porvenireños.... are interesting people. Most people here are extremely unfriendly. In other sectores it is easy to talk to 30 or more new people in a day. Here.... we are lucky if we talk to 5 new people. If we knock 20 doors, 19 of them won’t even be opened. So... it is difficult. Almost every single person here has already heard all about the missionaries and wants nothing to do with us. Haha. But we still try and talk to them anyway. There ARE people here that need the gospel. There ARE people here that are ready to hear it, but we just have to be patient and keep looking for them. So that is what we will do.
Hey, that is fantastic news that you are reading the Book of Mormon again. Read it. Every single day. I do it. That is what keeps me going. I love the Book of Mormon. I read it... a lot. Haha. Whenever I have time I try to read it. So keep on that, and I guarantee that you will see the blessings.
Hey, have a good week! Hope you are doing well. Enjoy dinner with the Borup’s. Tell them I say hi. And... I haven’t really received my package yet. We don’t see mail too often down here. It is probably in the office in Osorno, though. No worries.
Elder Warren
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Porvenireno
January 13, 2013
Mama,
Hey, this week was a pretty good week here in Porvenir. This place is so small. Super small. Haha. I think I will take a second to answer the questions that you had asked me.
Do you need your sunglasses? No, haha. I am okay.
Is it sunny every day? It isn't sunny every single day. But the weather changes super-fast, from raining to sunny. But... you can get sunburn when it is cloudy.
Are the days long or short? Sunrise/sunset (Is it like Alaska?) Super long. There is sun until like 11:30 p.m. and the sun is up by like 4:00 a.m.
Is it snowy? There is no snow right now. It has been like 36-45 degrees. Something like that.
Do you live close to the water? We live like a few blocks from the water. There are tsunami warning signs everywhere.
What are the houses like? The houses are all old and colorful. All the roofs of the houses are different colors.
Do you live with some members or in an apartment? We live in our own house. It is super nice, actually. But we live on the Branch Presidents property.
What kinds of exercise do you do besides walking? We do a huge amount of push-ups and sit ups; Tons of them. We also use my exercise bands to do arms and such. I do like...30 minutes of Cardio (plyometrics) every day.
Is the food there any different? It is a little different. We still eat beans a lot. But here... we never eat fruits or vegetables because they basically don’t exist.
Was your companion new to Porvenir also? This is his second cambio here.
Do you have a car, phone, and computer? We do not have a car. Our phone??? Super dinosaur; Super old school. We don’t have a computer. We email on the computer in the church.
This place is really different compared to other sectors. We are on the island of Tierra del Fuego. We are legitimately an hour’s plane ride away from Antarctica. Isn't that crazy? The king penguins live here!!!!! The big ones!! I am already making the arrangements to go see them. We know a guy who just went to see them and there are THOUSANDS of penguins here. But they are like two hours away The way people speak Spanish here is a lot different here as well; a TON faster, which is incredible because Chileans already speak super-fast. SUPER fast. But it is all good.
The work here is going alright. It is a sector that has a lot of challenges. A lot. We had 15 members at church yesterday... which isn't very many. But we are working on that. Actually, I do have some good news. We are going to have a wedding on Friday and a baptism shortly after. One of our investigators is getting married and is going to get baptized! He is pretty cool his name is Cristian. He has a mullet. I am jealous. Ha.
This week we are going to Punta Arenas for interviews with President. We are leaving on the boat tomorrow at 7 p.m. We will be returning from Punta Arenas on the boat on Friday morning, and we should get back just in time for the wedding. But, we also got permission to take an avioneta (a 15 passenger plane) if all fails so we can make it back to the wedding. How legit? Right? We will be in Punta Arenas for a few days and I will be going on an intercambio with Elder BORUP!!!! How sweet is that! Also, we will get to go to district meeting. We aren't usually allowed to go... because it costs like 40 bucks to travel from the island to Punta Arenas and back!
Hey, I am glad everyone enjoyed the Christmas cards! That is why I made them. It took me FOREVER to draw on the back of all of those! A really long time! So I am glad that everyone likes them.
Hey... I gotta go. I am going to try and send a picture. Dropbox doesn't work on this computer... so patience. :)
Elder Warren
P.S. Sorry it was short today... I had a ton of emails to read today... and I can’t print them. So I just have to read them.
 |
| LDS Church Porvenir, Chile |
Mama,
Hey, this week was a pretty good week here in Porvenir. This place is so small. Super small. Haha. I think I will take a second to answer the questions that you had asked me.
Do you need your sunglasses? No, haha. I am okay.
Is it sunny every day? It isn't sunny every single day. But the weather changes super-fast, from raining to sunny. But... you can get sunburn when it is cloudy.
Are the days long or short? Sunrise/sunset (Is it like Alaska?) Super long. There is sun until like 11:30 p.m. and the sun is up by like 4:00 a.m.
Is it snowy? There is no snow right now. It has been like 36-45 degrees. Something like that.
Do you live close to the water? We live like a few blocks from the water. There are tsunami warning signs everywhere.
What are the houses like? The houses are all old and colorful. All the roofs of the houses are different colors.
Do you live with some members or in an apartment? We live in our own house. It is super nice, actually. But we live on the Branch Presidents property.
What kinds of exercise do you do besides walking? We do a huge amount of push-ups and sit ups; Tons of them. We also use my exercise bands to do arms and such. I do like...30 minutes of Cardio (plyometrics) every day.
Is the food there any different? It is a little different. We still eat beans a lot. But here... we never eat fruits or vegetables because they basically don’t exist.
Was your companion new to Porvenir also? This is his second cambio here.
Do you have a car, phone, and computer? We do not have a car. Our phone??? Super dinosaur; Super old school. We don’t have a computer. We email on the computer in the church.
 |
| P-day Donuts and Ping Pong |
This place is really different compared to other sectors. We are on the island of Tierra del Fuego. We are legitimately an hour’s plane ride away from Antarctica. Isn't that crazy? The king penguins live here!!!!! The big ones!! I am already making the arrangements to go see them. We know a guy who just went to see them and there are THOUSANDS of penguins here. But they are like two hours away The way people speak Spanish here is a lot different here as well; a TON faster, which is incredible because Chileans already speak super-fast. SUPER fast. But it is all good.
The work here is going alright. It is a sector that has a lot of challenges. A lot. We had 15 members at church yesterday... which isn't very many. But we are working on that. Actually, I do have some good news. We are going to have a wedding on Friday and a baptism shortly after. One of our investigators is getting married and is going to get baptized! He is pretty cool his name is Cristian. He has a mullet. I am jealous. Ha.
This week we are going to Punta Arenas for interviews with President. We are leaving on the boat tomorrow at 7 p.m. We will be returning from Punta Arenas on the boat on Friday morning, and we should get back just in time for the wedding. But, we also got permission to take an avioneta (a 15 passenger plane) if all fails so we can make it back to the wedding. How legit? Right? We will be in Punta Arenas for a few days and I will be going on an intercambio with Elder BORUP!!!! How sweet is that! Also, we will get to go to district meeting. We aren't usually allowed to go... because it costs like 40 bucks to travel from the island to Punta Arenas and back!
Hey, I am glad everyone enjoyed the Christmas cards! That is why I made them. It took me FOREVER to draw on the back of all of those! A really long time! So I am glad that everyone likes them.
Hey... I gotta go. I am going to try and send a picture. Dropbox doesn't work on this computer... so patience. :)
Elder Warren
P.S. Sorry it was short today... I had a ton of emails to read today... and I can’t print them. So I just have to read them.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
I Am On A Different Planet!!
January 6, 2014
Mom!!!!
Hey... I have a ton to tell you! Holy cow!! I am definitely down very, very far away. I am with Elder Keetch from Lehi. He is super sweet; a really good missionary. We are getting along really well. Things are different down here. There have been a lot of changes. I guess I will start from the beginning.
So last Sunday I gave a talk in church in Ovejería. I cried like a baby when I announced to the ward that Elder Borup and I were going to be leaving. All the members were super sad, and the majority of the women were all crying in sacrament meeting. It really was one of the hardest goodbyes of my entire life. I felt SO at home in Ovejería with Elder Borup and the members. It was so nice being in a strong ward where the members work hard and are strong. I made some friends for life up there in Ovejería. I am actually still really sad that I am not there, but I am sure that will go away when I get adjusted to the life down here. The members threw a huge going away party for Elder Borup and I on Monday. That was really nice of them.
So now...the traveling... We got all of our suitcases weighed and down to the bus station. We sent one suit case each for Tour Bus, so that suitcase will get here in like a month. We traveled with seven in total down here. We went from Osorno to Puerto Montt. Then we went to the airport in Puerto Montt. We flew down from 90 degree weather to Punta Arenas where it is like 30 degrees right now. I was actually thinking about it... I will not have a summer for three years. I left in the dead of winter to the mission to get to Chile in the end of summer. Then I passed the whole winter here. Then we were starting to get into summer, and I get sent down to Punta Arenas where it is freezing. Then I will probably go back up north in like six months for winter again. And then when I will be approaching summer again here in Chile....then I will go home to Utah to the winter. Crazy.
So we took a shuttle from the airport to one of the church buildings to meet up with our companions. Elder Keetch and I went to the Zone Leaders house because we couldn’t leave to Porvenir because there is only one boat that comes here a day. So we went and dropped off the bags, and then went to the grocery store to buy food for the next month. We dropped like 70 bucks on cereal and stuff. There isn’t a real grocery store here in Porvenir. And everything is super expensive here, so that is why we stock up when we go to Punta Arenas. We only go there once every transfer cycle. So once every six weeks. Crazy. We never see other missionaries; go to trainings or meetings... nothing. It is different. But, I have to tell you a story now.
The story I will tell you now might freak you out just a little bit, but I feel like I should tell you. It was actually one of the coolest experiences on my entire mission. But don’t worry, promise? Okay, so Elder Keetch and I finished buying our groceries and we went back to the Zone Leaders house in Punta Arenas. We dropped the stuff off and it was 9:25. We thought "great, we have five minutes to go out and do two contacts." So we go out and we have no idea where we are going because it wasn’t our sector. So we start walking and we both feel like we should turn left. We started walking and we didn’t see anyone in the street. Elder Keetch said "dude, there isn’t anybody here." I said we should keep going because something would turn up. Then we did one contact and the guy was rude, but we kept going. Then the Zone Leaders come around the corner. We start walking with them back to the house when a group of men come up to us and start screaming at us. They went after Elder Vazquez. He is the new Zone Leader and it was his first day in the sector. The guy kept getting in his face and we all said, "We don’t want any problems, we are just trying to walk home." The dude then slammed Elder Vazquez up against the wall and pulls out a knife. So I jump in between them and shove the guy and say, "Look, we don’t want any trouble with you. Leave. Now." (I was much bigger than him). He started yelling at me, waving his knife around. Then his friend comes up and punches me in the face. I just stood there and said, "Calm down." He punched me again. I then repeated to him "Calm down." And so then I get punched a third time. So then I look him right in the eye and say, "You better leave. Right now." He yelled something else... and then they all left and we walked home. I kept my cool. I was really tempted to wreck the dude’s life when he punched me, but something held me back. I was calm the entire time. The thought came to me that if I had hit him; the missionaries would have even more problems in the future with the gang. But anyway, looking back on the experience.... It was awesome. Here is why. We got back to the house, and we decided to be obedient and leave for the last five minutes to work, even though we weren’t in our sector. We chose to be obedient, and because of it we were led by the spirit of where to go. We didn’t know why we needed to turn left, but we felt like we should and we followed the prompting. Heavenly Father led us to the Zone Leaders. If we wouldn’t have shown up, it would have been just two missionaries instead of four; and the way that the guy went after Elder Vazquez..... Elder Vazquez probably would have ended up getting stabbed. It is crazy. The Lord takes care of His missionaries. He sent us to prevent something really bad from happening to one of our fellow missionaries.
So... then the next day we go to take the boat to Porvenir. It is like a three hour boat ride. We saw some whales on the way, and some dolphin looking things. We get here.... and it is like a deserted little town. There are only like 4000 inhabitants; tiny. And the church here? It is super weak. There were 12 people at church yesterday. There is so much work to do here. The members are all inactive. The active members (all 12 of them) are super disseminated. We’ve got so much work to do here. Porvenir is notorious for being the hardest sector in the mission. Having only 4000 people in the town and a SUPER weak branch.... it makes missionary work tough. We walk around all day and see absolutely nobody in the street. In Osorno, we were talking to a ton of people in the streets all the time. This place is super calm and tranquillo, so don’t worry about me getting hurt or anything. Lots of the great leaders of our mission have spent time down here. It is a place of growth. It is a place to learn. It is a place where we can become better people. We are totally alone down here, so we HAVE to rely on God and His power and His comfort.
There is a hole in the ozone layer here. The sun is super strong. You get sunburned when it is cloudy. We put on buckets of sunscreen. We are having... fun. We do a lot of exercises. We are playing ping pong here. (And yes... packages take a long time to get to Punta Arenas, and even longer to get here because we never go to Punta Arenas.)
I am happy that you got my package and that you already delivered the stuff!!! You are awesome. That is why you are my momma. I always look forward to your emails and hearing from you. I might write you a handwritten letter today. I hope you are doing awesome. :)
Elder Warren
Mom!!!!
Hey... I have a ton to tell you! Holy cow!! I am definitely down very, very far away. I am with Elder Keetch from Lehi. He is super sweet; a really good missionary. We are getting along really well. Things are different down here. There have been a lot of changes. I guess I will start from the beginning.
So last Sunday I gave a talk in church in Ovejería. I cried like a baby when I announced to the ward that Elder Borup and I were going to be leaving. All the members were super sad, and the majority of the women were all crying in sacrament meeting. It really was one of the hardest goodbyes of my entire life. I felt SO at home in Ovejería with Elder Borup and the members. It was so nice being in a strong ward where the members work hard and are strong. I made some friends for life up there in Ovejería. I am actually still really sad that I am not there, but I am sure that will go away when I get adjusted to the life down here. The members threw a huge going away party for Elder Borup and I on Monday. That was really nice of them.
So now...the traveling... We got all of our suitcases weighed and down to the bus station. We sent one suit case each for Tour Bus, so that suitcase will get here in like a month. We traveled with seven in total down here. We went from Osorno to Puerto Montt. Then we went to the airport in Puerto Montt. We flew down from 90 degree weather to Punta Arenas where it is like 30 degrees right now. I was actually thinking about it... I will not have a summer for three years. I left in the dead of winter to the mission to get to Chile in the end of summer. Then I passed the whole winter here. Then we were starting to get into summer, and I get sent down to Punta Arenas where it is freezing. Then I will probably go back up north in like six months for winter again. And then when I will be approaching summer again here in Chile....then I will go home to Utah to the winter. Crazy.
So we took a shuttle from the airport to one of the church buildings to meet up with our companions. Elder Keetch and I went to the Zone Leaders house because we couldn’t leave to Porvenir because there is only one boat that comes here a day. So we went and dropped off the bags, and then went to the grocery store to buy food for the next month. We dropped like 70 bucks on cereal and stuff. There isn’t a real grocery store here in Porvenir. And everything is super expensive here, so that is why we stock up when we go to Punta Arenas. We only go there once every transfer cycle. So once every six weeks. Crazy. We never see other missionaries; go to trainings or meetings... nothing. It is different. But, I have to tell you a story now.
The story I will tell you now might freak you out just a little bit, but I feel like I should tell you. It was actually one of the coolest experiences on my entire mission. But don’t worry, promise? Okay, so Elder Keetch and I finished buying our groceries and we went back to the Zone Leaders house in Punta Arenas. We dropped the stuff off and it was 9:25. We thought "great, we have five minutes to go out and do two contacts." So we go out and we have no idea where we are going because it wasn’t our sector. So we start walking and we both feel like we should turn left. We started walking and we didn’t see anyone in the street. Elder Keetch said "dude, there isn’t anybody here." I said we should keep going because something would turn up. Then we did one contact and the guy was rude, but we kept going. Then the Zone Leaders come around the corner. We start walking with them back to the house when a group of men come up to us and start screaming at us. They went after Elder Vazquez. He is the new Zone Leader and it was his first day in the sector. The guy kept getting in his face and we all said, "We don’t want any problems, we are just trying to walk home." The dude then slammed Elder Vazquez up against the wall and pulls out a knife. So I jump in between them and shove the guy and say, "Look, we don’t want any trouble with you. Leave. Now." (I was much bigger than him). He started yelling at me, waving his knife around. Then his friend comes up and punches me in the face. I just stood there and said, "Calm down." He punched me again. I then repeated to him "Calm down." And so then I get punched a third time. So then I look him right in the eye and say, "You better leave. Right now." He yelled something else... and then they all left and we walked home. I kept my cool. I was really tempted to wreck the dude’s life when he punched me, but something held me back. I was calm the entire time. The thought came to me that if I had hit him; the missionaries would have even more problems in the future with the gang. But anyway, looking back on the experience.... It was awesome. Here is why. We got back to the house, and we decided to be obedient and leave for the last five minutes to work, even though we weren’t in our sector. We chose to be obedient, and because of it we were led by the spirit of where to go. We didn’t know why we needed to turn left, but we felt like we should and we followed the prompting. Heavenly Father led us to the Zone Leaders. If we wouldn’t have shown up, it would have been just two missionaries instead of four; and the way that the guy went after Elder Vazquez..... Elder Vazquez probably would have ended up getting stabbed. It is crazy. The Lord takes care of His missionaries. He sent us to prevent something really bad from happening to one of our fellow missionaries.
So... then the next day we go to take the boat to Porvenir. It is like a three hour boat ride. We saw some whales on the way, and some dolphin looking things. We get here.... and it is like a deserted little town. There are only like 4000 inhabitants; tiny. And the church here? It is super weak. There were 12 people at church yesterday. There is so much work to do here. The members are all inactive. The active members (all 12 of them) are super disseminated. We’ve got so much work to do here. Porvenir is notorious for being the hardest sector in the mission. Having only 4000 people in the town and a SUPER weak branch.... it makes missionary work tough. We walk around all day and see absolutely nobody in the street. In Osorno, we were talking to a ton of people in the streets all the time. This place is super calm and tranquillo, so don’t worry about me getting hurt or anything. Lots of the great leaders of our mission have spent time down here. It is a place of growth. It is a place to learn. It is a place where we can become better people. We are totally alone down here, so we HAVE to rely on God and His power and His comfort.
There is a hole in the ozone layer here. The sun is super strong. You get sunburned when it is cloudy. We put on buckets of sunscreen. We are having... fun. We do a lot of exercises. We are playing ping pong here. (And yes... packages take a long time to get to Punta Arenas, and even longer to get here because we never go to Punta Arenas.)
I am happy that you got my package and that you already delivered the stuff!!! You are awesome. That is why you are my momma. I always look forward to your emails and hearing from you. I might write you a handwritten letter today. I hope you are doing awesome. :)
Elder Warren
Lejos...Nos Vamos
December 28, 2013
Mom,
Well... We found out our cambios today! Let me just say.... really unexpected. Really unexpected. So President Rappleye called and said Elder Borup was going to Fitzroy in Punta Arenas. And me...Also to Punta Arenas, Porvenir. Let me tell you a little bit about Porvenir. It is the furthest south city in the entire mission, and probably the furthest south city of any mission in the entire world. That will be as close as I could possibly get to the Antarctica. To get there...I have to take a bus, a plane, another bus, and a boat to get to where I am going. Crazy, right? It is completely isolated from everything. We will be the only two missionaries down there. I will be with Elder Keetch. There isn´t a grocery store or anything in the city, so we buy all of our groceries once like every six weeks! We don´t attend district meetings or anything, because we are too far away from everyone and everything. We only leave the sector once every six weeks! Crazy! Haha. Kind of funny, but I am going to the only zone in the whole mission where we can use sunglasses. The hole in the ozone layer is right above Punta Arenas, supposedly.
Christmas was good. It was a little weird talking to you people, though. It seemed almost a little bit like talking to strangers. Maybe that is because I have been gone for such a long time. It was good though. Crazy to think I only have one more phone call left in my entire mission, right? Weird stuff. You seemed... okay. You actually seemed a little sad to me; which makes me kind of sad. I don´t want you to be sad or anything! Don´t be sad!!! Keep your head up and keep moving forward. I love you.
I don´t have a lot more to say. I am doing just fine. I was sick... super sick yesterday. I slept all day. But I am a little better now. Hey.... you won´t hear from me until next Monday, just so you know. I will have P-day on Mondays again.
Elder Warren
P.S. By the way.... they are taking both of us out of Ovejería and putting in Hermana’s. Crazy stuff.
Mom,
Well... We found out our cambios today! Let me just say.... really unexpected. Really unexpected. So President Rappleye called and said Elder Borup was going to Fitzroy in Punta Arenas. And me...Also to Punta Arenas, Porvenir. Let me tell you a little bit about Porvenir. It is the furthest south city in the entire mission, and probably the furthest south city of any mission in the entire world. That will be as close as I could possibly get to the Antarctica. To get there...I have to take a bus, a plane, another bus, and a boat to get to where I am going. Crazy, right? It is completely isolated from everything. We will be the only two missionaries down there. I will be with Elder Keetch. There isn´t a grocery store or anything in the city, so we buy all of our groceries once like every six weeks! We don´t attend district meetings or anything, because we are too far away from everyone and everything. We only leave the sector once every six weeks! Crazy! Haha. Kind of funny, but I am going to the only zone in the whole mission where we can use sunglasses. The hole in the ozone layer is right above Punta Arenas, supposedly.
Christmas was good. It was a little weird talking to you people, though. It seemed almost a little bit like talking to strangers. Maybe that is because I have been gone for such a long time. It was good though. Crazy to think I only have one more phone call left in my entire mission, right? Weird stuff. You seemed... okay. You actually seemed a little sad to me; which makes me kind of sad. I don´t want you to be sad or anything! Don´t be sad!!! Keep your head up and keep moving forward. I love you.
I don´t have a lot more to say. I am doing just fine. I was sick... super sick yesterday. I slept all day. But I am a little better now. Hey.... you won´t hear from me until next Monday, just so you know. I will have P-day on Mondays again.
Elder Warren
P.S. By the way.... they are taking both of us out of Ovejería and putting in Hermana’s. Crazy stuff.
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